Team USA Names Speed Skater Erin Jackson and Bobsledder Frank Del Duca As Flag Bearers For Opening Ceremony

Erin Jackson and Frank Del Duca will become the eighth speedskater and sixth bobsledder, respectively, to carry the Star Spangled Banner in OC.

Team USA Names Speed Skater Erin Jackson and Bobsledder Frank Del Duca As Flag Bearers For Opening Ceremony

Erin Jackson, Frank Del Duca (Images via @speedyj and @frankiedelduca on Instagram)

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The United States will be led at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on February 6, 2026, at the San Siro Stadium in Milan by speed skater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca.

The reigning 500m speed skating gold medalist, Jackson, will be returning for a third stint in the Winter Olympics. In Beijing, she edged out gold-medal favorite Miho Takagi to become the first Black female to bag a gold medal in an individual sport in the Winter Olympics. She also ended Uncle Sam’s 12-year drought of a gold medal in speed skating.

Jackson is also set to compete in the women’s 1000m, adding the event to her schedule after the previous Winter Olympics, alongside her 500m appearance. In the 2025-26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup, she bagged two silvers and one bronze across nine 500m races.

She was ranked third behind Femke Kok of the Netherlands and Kaja Ziomek-Nogal of Poland in the final standings. However, she failed to place a podium in the 1000m category. After a strong season, she’s one of the top contenders in the 500m. In a statement via the USOPC, Jackson said that it’s a great honor that has been bestowed upon her.

It’s a moment that reflects far more than one individual… it represents my family, my teammates, my hometown, and everyone across the country who believes in the power of sport. The Olympics remind us of the power of sport to connect and inspire, and I’m proud to carry that forward on the Olympic stage.

US Army Sergeant Frank Del Duca made his maiden Olympics in 2022, where he competed in the two-man and four-man bobsled events. He placed 13th in both events at the time. He has significantly improved in recent times, earning fourth place in both events at the IBSF World Cup in Lake Placid last December. Del Duca will pilot the sled alongside Boone Niederhofer in the two-man event in the upcoming games, where they are medal contenders as the fourth-best team in the world.

In the seven World Cup races this year, the pair has finished in the top seven all the times. In four-man, they will be joined by Josh Williamson and Bryan Sosoo.

Del Duca, Italian-American by origin, will become the first bobsledder to carry the Star Spangled Banner into the Olympics in 70 years. Billy Fiske was the first bobsledder to do so in 1932 at Lake Placid, and James Bickford carried the flag twice at Oslo in 1952 and Cortina D’Ampezzo in 1956. Del Duca said:

With the Olympic Games being held in Italy, it means even more. Nearly everyone in my family is of Italian descent. There is no greater honor than leading Team USA into the Opening Ceremony in Italy.

Erin Jackson has to thank Brittany Bowe for the honor

Yes, the Flag Bearers are selected by the contingent through a voting process. There should be one male and one female, according to the International Olympic Committee’s 2020 Gender Equity Guidelines. Erin Jackson and Frank Del Duca were selected through the process itself.

Erin Jackson with Brittany Bowe (Image via Team USA)
Erin Jackson with Brittany Bowe (Image via Team USA)

There’s a hidden, wholesome story behind Jackson’s ascent to the top. Jackson didn’t initially make the 500m start list after a costly slip landed her in 3rd place at the US Trials ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Her friend of more than a decade, Brittany Bowe, had secured a ticket. Bowe also secured tickets for 1000m and 1500m speed skating.

She did what most athletes won’t be comfortable doing. Hopeful of a podium and love for her friend, Bowe gave up her qualification to Jackson. What happened was history, a moment Bowe calls monumental for the sport and women across the globe.

Bowe will return to her fourth and last Olympics this year. Despite her age, she’s still considered one of the best speed skaters. In the last ISU World Cup, she finished in third place in the 1000m and fifth place in the 1500m in the final standings.

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